1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to board-to-board coaxial connections. More specifically, the invention relates to board-to-board coaxial connections in a computing environment.
2. Background
The combination of mobile computing and wireless communications is a powerful driver in the personal electronics field. Mobile computers, for example laptops, have improved connectivity with peripheral devices and the Internet through a wireless communication module. A wireless initiative to greatly improve the conductivity of mobile personal computers to the Internet and other devices is currently underway. Such an initiative requires a combination interface with both radio frequency (RF) and digital signal segments to provide conductivity, between mobile personal computers and peripheral devices. The RF segment typically contains several coaxial (xe2x80x9ccoaxxe2x80x9d) connections, each of which is capable of handling RF signals up to 6 gigahertz (GHz).
Motherboards for mobile personal computers may contain within them radio frequency (RF) antennae. These antennae may be connected through the motherboard to an off board connection through microstrip lines. These microstrip lines need to be suitably engineered to provide appropriate impedance and isolation for the RF signal. Features that need to be considered in engineering RF capable microstrip transmission lines include width of line and distance between signal line and ground line and the dielectric layer separating them.
An add-on radio module is typically used to process information contained in a RF signal. The module board will have processing capability necessary to make the RF signal usable by the mobile personal computer motherboard. The module is thus able to extract the digital signal from the analog carrier.
A board-to-board RF connector is a two-piece connector. One piece of the board-to-board connector is permanently attached to the mobile personal computer motherboard, while the other piece of the connector is permanently attached to the RF module board. If desired, a radio frequency module may be connected onto the mobile personal computer motherboard by such a connector. However, the absence of the module will not interfere with the operation of the mobile personal computer motherboard.